1. Field of the Invention
Apparatuses consistent with the present invention relate to mechanical splices. More particularly, the present invention relates to mechanical splicing optical fibers that includes a component for aligning and the fibers that are being spliced.
2. Description of the Related Art
In order to join fibers from multiple cable reels, the optical fiber must be either fusion spliced or mechanically spliced to align the fiber cores prior to joining the ends to allow optical energy to past from one fiber to the next. Depending on the quality of the alignment there is loss associated with such fiber joints.
In using fusion splicing there is a high cost of the equipment, special skill levels of the technician and precision equipment required to prepare the fiber to make this joint. In mechanical splicing of optical fibers, there are high losses and special apparatuses or tools required to precisely align the optical cores of the fiber. All existing fiber optic mechanical splices use some type of special tool or apparatus to assemble the mechanical splice and precisely align the optical core of the fiber. These special tools are an additional cost and add an element of additional complexity in order to facilitate making a low loss mechanical splice joint between optical fibers.
The fibers are first prepared by having their protective coating removed, the fiber cleaned in pure alcohol and the end faced cleaved to provide a flat endface. This is the same process for all splicing, either fusion or mechanical. The special tools required for mechanical splicing are to open the elastomer that precisely aligns the fiber cores by a precision V-groove in the elastomer. Once both fibers are aligned the tool closes the V-groove and the fibers are held in place and in alignment by the closed elastomer. The problem that need to be addressed is that these special tools are costly, cumbersome, and need to be replaced and repaired.
It is an object of this invention to provide a mechanical splice that is pre-equipped with a component that can open and close the elastomer, thus eliminating the need for a special tool to complete the splice.